In general, a fuel cell includes an anode and a cathode separated by an electrolyte. Charges move between the anode and the cathode producing direct current (DC) electricity. Specifically, a chemical reaction strips hydrogen atoms of their electrons, resulting in the hydrogen atoms being “ionized.” The ionized hydrogen atoms carry a positive electrical charge. The negatively charged electrons provide the current. Individual fuel cells produce relatively small electrical potentials. Because the electrical potentials are small, fuel cells are “stacked” or placed in series, to increase the combined voltage such that the voltage meets an application's requirements. To utilize the electric current, connection points are used to draw off the current.
Typically, the connection points are at the extreme ends of the fuel cell stack. Direct current (DC) power converters are used to convert the voltage produced at the ends of the stack into voltages that can be used by attached devices. These DC converters add expense and inefficiency to the fuel cell system. In addition the DC converters are undesireable additional mass, volume and points of failure.